


Drunken Hands - one shot - On the rocks

by VexedBeverage



Series: Drunken Hands [8]
Category: Hat Films - Fandom, Hatfilms, The Yogscast
Genre: M/M, One Shot, drunken hands one shot, smornby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 02:50:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4590231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VexedBeverage/pseuds/VexedBeverage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A one shot based within the Drunken Hands story, set in the time jump between the last proper chapter and the epilogue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drunken Hands - one shot - On the rocks

Trott glanced over at Ross in the passenger seat and smiled to himself, Ross' usual attire these days consisted of old ratty jeans and comfortable hoodies that swamped the dark haired man, Uni didn’t leave Ross with much spare cash and his wardrobe reflected this, but today he had made an effort. A pair of new jeans that weren't one wash away from falling apart and a new black t-shirt that had caused more than a few girls and guys alike to try and give him their number the last time Trott had dragged him on a night out. 

Feeling eyes on him Ross turned his attention from the view speeding past the car window and looked at his friend. "What?" 

"Nothing mate." 

Usually Ross would push for an answer when the smaller man refused to answer a question like this but today was different, a slow hum of excitement was thrumming through his veins and he instead grinned at the other man. "You and Katie got anything special planned?" He asked instead. 

Trotts face lit up, much like Ross knew his had at the prospect of seeing his boyfriend for the first time in almost two months. "We're just gonna hang out mostly, you know?" 

Ross nodded vigorously, he did know, he also knew how much Trott missed Katie when he was at Uni, how awful it felt to only have texts, phone calls and skype calls to keep in touch with your significant other and how hard it must have been for Trott to only be breaking the speed limit by ten miles per hour at the moment. "It feels like forever since Christmas." 

Trott nods before overtaking a slow moving seven seater then filtering back into the middle lane. "Four months mate." Christmas had been good this year, a month break from Uni, getting to hang out with all their old college friends, long days spent in the pub they wasted countless nights in before they all split to go off into further education. Alex hadn't been able to be there the whole time, his Uni course requiring a work placement that only gave him a little over a week of respite, but Ross spent as much time with him as possible, both men reverting to their teenage selves and practically living in Ross' childhood bedroom, watching stupid videos and just being with each other. 

The car passed a sign and both men grinned, the next turn off would lead them back home, back to their families and partners. 

Pulling up and onto to drive of his house, Trott cut the engine and stretched out his back with an audible pop before pulling the keys from the ignition with one hand whilst simultaneously unclipping his seatbelt. The loud, obnoxious ring of Ross' phone rang through the now silent vehicle and the dark haired man dug into his pocket for the offending object, he licked his lips and smiled at the caller ID before clicking accept and bringing the phone to his ear. 

Trott reached for the door handle and climbed out of the car quickly, Ross and Smith had a habit of getting extra mushy or sexual on the phone when he was around, he knew they did it just to see him react but that didn’t stop it being weird or make him want to hear it. 

The smaller man flicked his fringe out of his eyes before opening the boot, a loud shout making him wince. "What the fuck do you mean?" Looking through the vehicle, Trott could see Ross leaning back into his seat, one hand fisting into his spiked hair in a sign that he knew meant the other man was frustrated. A word, sharp, like a knife cut the air through Ross' bared teeth. "No." Pulling his friends bag out of the car and placing it next to his own, Trott sighs and runs a hand over his own face. "Doesn’t sound like work to me." 

Trott watched as Ross' hand found the door handle and his foot kicked out at the door, forcing it open with too much force so it bounced back on its hinges to almost hit him on the rebound. Straining his ears he could hear Smith on the other end of the phone, talking rapidly and a little too loud. Ross' feet find the floor and he exits the vehicle as Trott finally closes the boot looking anywhere but at his friend. "Who the fuck was that?" Trotts head snaps to Ross at the tone of the question, asked in a too calm voice dripping in disdain. 

Trott has known Ross forever, he knows his body language and facial cues almost as well as he knows his own, right now Ross is on the verge of losing his composure, his face red, eyes too bright with extra moisture, movements abrupt and fidgety. Trott leans against the car, trying to calm his own posture in response to an agitated Ross Hornby stomping on his drive. "You know what?" He asks pulling the phone away from his ear slightly in what Trott can only assume is at response to the volume of Smith's voice on the other end. "Do what the fuck you want Alex. I really couldn’t give a shit anymore." And with that he slammed the end call button and shoved the phone back into his pocket where it immediately started ringing again. 

Trott watches in dumbfounded horror as the dark haired man practically rips his pocket off his jeans as he yanks the phone violently out again, he stabs at the reject call button before holding down the off button on the phone, silencing it once and for all. 

Ross' eyes are rimmed in red as he meets Trotts stare, he takes a deep but shaky breath before walking towards the other man, reaching down he snatches his bag from the floor and turns to leave. "Ross mate?" Trott blurts, taking a step towards the retreating man. 

Ross doesn’t stop but turns and walks backwards, his face wiped of all emotion, holding a hand up in a halting gesture he says one word "Don’t." before turning once again and disappearing around the corner from view. 

********* 

Three hours later Ross' phone is still turned off. "Why don’t you just go around there?" Katie asks as she flops down onto the bed next to her boyfriend lying on his stomach. 

Trott drops the phone to the bed where it makes a small thud, followed by burying his face into the duvet for a moment, lifting his head he meets Katie's eyes with a small, sad smile. "Because..." He pauses for a moment as if he is trying to find the right words. "I have never been good dealing with Ross when he is upset." 

Katie lets out an amused breath through her nose but doesn’t get to question her boyfriend further as her phone starts to ring. 

Trott zones out, trying to give Katie some privacy on her call. Should he call Smith and see what the fuck happened or just stay the hell out of it? It was never a good idea to get involved in other couples shit but they were his best mates and he hated knowing they were fighting. 

A tap to his thigh shakes Trott out of his thoughts and he focuses on Katie standing over him, pulling on her jacket. "Come on, we need to go." Trott throws her a confused look but does as he is told, shoving his feet into his shoes and throwing his jacket on. "It was Hannah, Ross is at the pub..." a beat of silence before blue eyes lock with brown, "it isn't good." 

The couple hurry out of the house and practically power walk up the hill towards their old watering hole, arriving red faced and breathless they scan the interior of the bar for their friends but they aren't anywhere to be seen. 

The barmaid catches Trotts eye and gestures to the side door to where the smoking shelter is situated. He thanks her with a nod and powers towards the door, Katie hot on his heels. 

The sight that greets the couple is much different than Trott was anticipating. Hannah and Lewis are sitting on stools, eyes glued to Ross who is practically shouting as he recounts the story of the last time he and Trott went to a party at one of their classmates houses. Ross' arm is flung messily around Duncan's shoulders, the blonde man appearing to be the only thing keeping Ross on his feet as he sways, one hand clutched around an almost empty glass of brown liquid. 

As the door behind them swings closed with a wooden clunk Ross turns and grins, his arm slipping from around Duncan's neck so he can rush at Trott with open arms. "Trotty boy!" The taller man shouts as he throws his arms around his friend, under the armpits and proceeds to straighten to his full height. Trotts feet leave the ground and he lets out a high pitched shout of surprise before Ross spins them both in a couple of messy circles, almost dropping him and falling to the ground in the process. 

Katie sneaks around the men to avoid being accosted in a similar fashion and pulls up a stool next to Hannah. 

Trott places a hand on either of Ross' shoulders to keep him steady. "How long you been up here mate?" He asks in a voice reminiscent of talking to a spooked animal. 

Ross sways backwards onto his heels a little and wets his lips, his eyebrows pull together as he brings his arm up to look at his watch, he shrugs before walking back towards the table and downing the rest of his drink. "Dropped my stuff at home and came up here." Glancing at the table Ross looks up to Hannah as he gestures at her with his empty glass. "You want one Han?" 

Hannah's eyes dart around to everyone before she nods and hops down from her stool. "Yeah, this one is on me though yeah?" She answers moving around the table to take Ross by the arm and lead him inside the pub. 

All motion at the table ceases until the door closes behind Ross and Hannah, then Duncan lets out a loud sigh. "What the fuck happened?" He directs at Trott. 

Trott has to stop himself from shrugging at the question. "I don’t know, as far as I know everything was fine then we pulled up at my house and he got a phone call from Smith and they started arguing but I don’t know what about." 

"Did you ask him what happened?" Lewis asked, elbows resting on the table in front of him. 

Trott nodded. "I tried, he cut me off and fucked off and he had turned his phone off so Smith couldn’t call him." 

"Have you spoken to Smith?" Duncan queries. 

Trott shakes his head as the door smashes open again and Ross exits the building with a pint of lager in each hand, he places one in front of Trott. "Hannah has yours." He says to Katie before trying to settle on a stool which wobbles dangerously before he manages to get himself onto it. 

The awkward silence that follows is lost on the drunk Ross as he takes sip after sip of his drink. An incessant buzzing in Trotts left pocket has him retreating from the group and back into the bar, as soon as he is out of earshot of the others he answers the call. 

"Smith?" He questions, already knowing the answer. 

"Fuck, Trott, is Ross with you? I've been hammering on his door for ten minutes and he is either ignoring me or he isn't here." 

Rubbing at his eyes Trott replies in a tired voice. "He's at the pub, Hannah called me, he is a mess mate." 

Trott can hear Smith lashing out through the phone, probably a kick to the brickwork of Ross house, and a string of expletives muttered under his breath. "I'll be there in five, don’t tell him I'm coming." Then the phone goes dead, no goodbye, just a click and silence. Looking down at his phone Trott types out a quick group message to the others outside. 'Smith is on his way, 5 mins.' 

The tension is tangible in the air as Trott rejoins his friends outside, though once again Ross seems immune to it and is rambling about their Uni course to Lewis who is nodding along with a forced smile. 

********** 

Alex often made his entrances interesting and it wasn’t always intentional, like now, skidding into the car park of the pub with a loud squeal of tires on tarmac, throwing the vehicle into a space he rips the hand break up with a loud series of clicks before the car has even come to a proper stop, throwing him forwards in his seat. 

Slamming the door he strides towards his friends, hair in a rumpled disarray different from its usual styled chaos. 

Ross stands from his seat as he notices the other man coming towards them and walks off in the opposite direction. 

Their friends watch in stunned silence as Alex lengthens his strides to catch up with the other man who had now disappeared around a corner out of view. 

"Ross!" Alex bellows at the other man's retreating form, Ross doesn’t stop, if anything his speed increases and he rounds another corner out of view again. "Fuck!" He doesn’t chase him, Ross knows every alley and cut through like the back of his hand, Alex doesn’t stand a chance of catching him unless he knows where he is going. Waiting outside Ross' house is his first instinct but Ross won't go back there so soon, he was even more stubborn than Alex. 

Leaning against the rough wall he tried to collect his thoughts, where would Ross go? Once in a mood he liked to be alone, he didn’t like company when he was upset, preferring instead to mentally beat himself up in solitude where others couldn’t tell him he was being too hard on himself or others. 

He knew it was futile to try phoning him for the umpteenth time today but he tried anyway, the happy voice of the voicemail made him let out a frustrated grunt before he decided to just walk it out, Ross had retreated to the pub where they had all hung out as teens, maybe he would follow the pattern and go to the other places they had shared in the area. 

Ross wasn’t at the quarry or at the old abandoned hospital where they would sit in the padded room drinking and laughing until sunrise. The sky had started to darken into twilight, deciding to leave Ross to his own devices until he was sober was probably for the best anyway, Alex decided. 

Cutting through the park he came to an abrupt stop before running towards the trees. Ross' voice, angry and crackling with tears was like a knife to his chest as he made his way, stumbling on rocks and hidden tree roots, towards the sounds. 

The sight that greeted him almost had him fall to his knees. 

Rhythmic thuds carried through the air as Ross punched at a large, rough tree trunk, one hand held flat against the bark to steady himself as his other, curled into a fist, pounded the wood. 

Alex watched, paralyzed as Ross took one last, hard swing before falling to his knees in the dirt, burying his face in his hands, his whole body shook with silent sobs. 

Sprinting into action, Alex jogged forwards and fell to his knees beside the other man, his arms immediately going around him to pull him close. 

Ross stiffened in his arms and didn't take his hands away from his face, instead trying to lean away from the taller man. 

Alex shifted, arms falling from around Ross, so that he was in front of him. Taking Ross' wrists in his hands, he gently tried to pry them away from his face. "Ross, please?" Please what? Look at him? Stop being mad? He isn't even sure what he is asking for himself. 

With a loud intake of breath, Ross gives into Alex's tugs and lets his hands fall away from his red, tear streaked face. 

Alex's hands cup Ross' face as he uses his thumbs to wipe away the tears drying on his skin, Ross closes his eyes at the physical contact and doesn’t look at the other man. Alex's hands fall from his face to rest on broad shoulders before tracing down his arms to bring his hands forward for him to inspect. The knuckles on his right hand are swollen and bloody, he hisses as a thumb traces over them. "We need to clean and wrap this." 

Ross nods, eyes opening slowly, he still doesn’t look at Alex as he takes his hands back and stands, Alex following suit quickly. 

********** 

The alcohol has all but worn off, a headache that could be stress or a hangover is pushing at Ross' temples as he walks home, Smith in step beside him. 

Nothing is said between the two men as they make their way towards Ross' house, both of them lost in silent thought as they slowly step towards what Ross can only describe feels like some kind of doom scenario. 

They make a beeline for the kitchen once they enter the house, Smith searching one of the top cupboards where Ross' mom keeps the medicines whilst Ross snatches a glass from the drying rack next to the sink and fills it with water, swallowing the whole thing in one go before refilling the glass and placing it on the kitchen table a few feet away. 

Smith pulls out a basket and places it on the table by the glass before gesturing to the sink. "Wash it out whilst I try and find some bandage or something." He mumbles as he rummages through the contents. 

Ross complies, hissing at the sting as the water makes contact with his abused knuckles. He leaves his hand under the cold tap which eventually has a numbing effect. 

Smith approaches, a clean towel held between his hands, Ross places his injured hand into its folds, carefully, so not to aggravate the damage Smith gently pats the moisture from the appendage before leading Ross back over to the table to sit down. With meticulous care and in complete silence Smith wraps Ross' hand in a white strip of gauze, taping it secure. 

Blue meets blue as they finally look up at each other. "I'm sorry." Smith breathes out, just above a whisper. 

Two words, just two simple words cause a lump to materialize in Ross' throat, he doesn’t dare answer for fear of his voice breaking. 

Sensing no response Smith continues. "I am so fucking sorry Ross." Reaching out he takes his uninjured hand in both of his own. "I made a huge mistake and when I fucked up I took it out on you." 

Ross snorted, an ugly sound in the quiet kitchen. "Yeah, you did." A pause. "Why the hell we're you hanging out with her? You said you couldn’t stand her." 

Smith sighed. "I couldn’t say no." One of his hands clasping Ross' let go so he could run his fingers through his hair. At this response Ross snatched his hand away from the other man. 

"Bullshit, theres always a choice Alex." Ross knew it was a low blow to use his first name, something only ever used in anger or extacy but he didn’t particularly care at the moment. 

"It's shit being so far away from you and I was lonely, We can't have proper conversations when we record and when we aren't recording I'm at work or you're busy editing and stuff..." Ross took a deep breath, trying not to let his initial response of burning anger show, he felt guilty whenever he would tell Smith he was editing, a shorthand way of saying 'go away' without the implied rudeness, but it needed to be done, they had made a pact, the two of them and Trott, that they would give this Youtube thing a shot after seeing how well it had gone for Lewis and Simon. 

Ross interjected before he could finish, voice getting louder with each word. "What so it's my fault now that you can't keep it in your fucking trousers?!" 

Smith looked genuinely confused and hurt at the accusation. "I didn’t fucking sleep with her." He growled back, eyebrows furrowed he stood and in one fluid motion reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded up envelope and threw in onto the table. 

Ross reached for the letter, unfolding it and scanning its contents quickly, muttering the words to himself as he read "We are pleased to inform you of your successful application to transfer to our South West offices to commence on Monday 1st September." Confused, Ross set the letter back down on the table. "I don’t..." 

Rubbing at his head Smith sat back down. "As soon as Uni finishes I'm coming back home. Tracy's uncle is a director or something for the company and in exchange for making sure she actually passes her classes this year she promised me she would pull some strings to get me transferred out of the Cardiff office and to the Bristol one." 

Ross' brain takes a moment to catch up. "You're coming home?" A smile forms at the corners of his mouth against his will. 

"I didn’t want to tell you in case she backed out or was bullshitting me." 

Ross shakes his head gently. "So that’s why you are always hanging out with her?" 

Before he could stop himself Smith's natural sarcasm reared its head. "What, you thought it was her dazzling wit and sparkling personality that made me want to spend time in her presence?" 

Ross let out an amused breath. "She probably wanted this to happen." 

Smith raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Wouldn’t put it past her." 

And that was it, the tension broken, no more words of apology forthcoming or needed. Ross stood from his chair and held a hand out to Smith. "I'm tired." He simply stated. 

The first genuine smile of the day lit up Smith's face as he stood and took Ross' hand, The dark haired man smiled back and led them up the stairs. Smith kicked the door shut with his foot as Ross released his hand to strip himself of his t shirt, his jeans following in quick succession before lifting the covers and collapsing into his bed. 

Smith watched him with a look of pure adoration before also stripping to his boxers and slipping into the bed behind the other man, his arm around Ross' waist as he pressed the full length of his body to the other man's back, his head nuzzling the junction between neck and shoulder. 

Ross' right hand shifted so it lay parallel to Smiths around his middle, he entwined their fingers and snuggled back against the taller man with a contented sigh. Ross felt as Smith pressed a silent kiss to his shoulder blade before settling his head onto the pillow. "I love you." Smith whispered into the darkness. 

Ross smiled and wet his lips before replying. "I love you too, you prick." 

Smith hummed in response.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, i have no idea where this came from or what the hell it is or if i even like it but... its done now so i thought i would post. 
> 
> please let me know any feedback you have :-)


End file.
